Case Study: A New Work Ethic
Case 4.4:
“A New Work Ethic”
Student:
Maria Leiva
Instructor:
Prof. Chuck Brooks
Date:
January 29, 2012
Introduction
This assignment discusses the case of James Sheehy, who worked undercover in a restaurant and discovered the attitude of the younger generations towards work ethics, especially under the customer service area, which they lacked, and also how they perceived employee theft. The following questions are to help us analyze and maybe even understand where business in America is heading, especially with a capitalist society.
1. Describe how typical the attitudes that Sheehy reports appear to be in work environments you have experienced.
The attitude described by James Sheehy unfortunately is not uncommon among young employees on these days, therefore is very likely that all of us at some point have come across an employee that has poor work ethics. I have worked in a call center environment for several years and have experienced how my younger coworkers, some of them still attending college, think of their job as a transitional one; they feel they don’t have to excel in their tasks even though they have the ability to do a better performance, because they work in customer service.
The problem with younger generations I believe it starts at home and school; parents usually want to give their children what they didn’t have growing up but they’re failing in teaching them appreciation and value of the things they receive, and that sends a message that they deserve something, instead of having to earn something; and at school they learn they can pass their classes by pulling enough extra credit even if they did poor in their tests and assignments, contributing to that get-away-with-it mentality that Sheehy talks about. 2. Explain the implications of the work ethics Sheehy describes for the future of American business.
Elizabeth Vallance (1995) reflects that business ethics “involves articulating a coherent set of values for a
“A New Work Ethic”
Student:
Maria Leiva
Instructor:
Prof. Chuck Brooks
Date:
January 29, 2012
Introduction
This assignment discusses the case of James Sheehy, who worked undercover in a restaurant and discovered the attitude of the younger generations towards work ethics, especially under the customer service area, which they lacked, and also how they perceived employee theft. The following questions are to help us analyze and maybe even understand where business in America is heading, especially with a capitalist society.
1. Describe how typical the attitudes that Sheehy reports appear to be in work environments you have experienced.
The attitude described by James Sheehy unfortunately is not uncommon among young employees on these days, therefore is very likely that all of us at some point have come across an employee that has poor work ethics. I have worked in a call center environment for several years and have experienced how my younger coworkers, some of them still attending college, think of their job as a transitional one; they feel they don’t have to excel in their tasks even though they have the ability to do a better performance, because they work in customer service.
The problem with younger generations I believe it starts at home and school; parents usually want to give their children what they didn’t have growing up but they’re failing in teaching them appreciation and value of the things they receive, and that sends a message that they deserve something, instead of having to earn something; and at school they learn they can pass their classes by pulling enough extra credit even if they did poor in their tests and assignments, contributing to that get-away-with-it mentality that Sheehy talks about. 2. Explain the implications of the work ethics Sheehy describes for the future of American business.
Elizabeth Vallance (1995) reflects that business ethics “involves articulating a coherent set of values for a
References: Bagley, W. H.(2010) Business Ethics (7th ed.) Mason, OH: Cencage Learning. Vallance, Elizabeth (1995). Business Ethics at Work. Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press. Rask, Robin L. (2008). Work Ethics and the Generation Gap!: Which Ethical Track Are You On?. Bloomington, IN. AuthorHouse. Kessler International Press Releases. (1999). Study shows 79% of employees steal from their employee. Retrieved on January 22, 2012 from http://www.investigation.com/press/press4.htm